New Girl In Town
by Chrysanthemum
Summary: A new threat is posed to the world... and only a girl who finds out she's not quite human -- with the help of the MMX team -- can prevent world disaster. (I may not be able to post again until fall due to time constraints.)
1. Prologue

(Note: The year for this chapter is 25XX. All subsequent chapters are set in 21XX unless otherwise noted.)

Dr. Luce locked herself in her lab for what she hoped would be the final tests on her creation. She checked out the young reploid's systems. Good to go. She checked out its database. All clear. She checked its memory banks. Perfect. One last thing before sending the little one on its way. The doctor logged on to her systems computer, then pulled up the holomatrix program and set it to record. Taking the controller in hand, she stepped back, made sure she was in the shot, then hit the record button.

"My little creation, I hope this file finds you well. I am sorry I had to keep the secret from you your entire life. But it was necessary that you grew up among humans, thinking yourself to be one. Included in this file are specs for your body armor, some upgrades for your system, and information you'll need to know and give to Dr. Cain." She paused, but kept the recording going. "I regret that after today, I'll probably never see you again, but it's for the best. My love for you always."

She stopped the recording, then played it back. Positive she hadn't forgotten anything, she saved it. Then she stepped back to her computer and opened several files. She got these ready to upload into her little reploid. Once Dr. Luce connected the wires to the back of the other's neck, she started the upload. Once it was complete, she blocked off "conscious" access to the file by the reploid. 

Sure everything was ready, she unlocked the door to her lab and called in a rather large reploid male. She gave him instructions to carry the child to the time pod. He did so as she programmed it to the year 21XX. "Well," she said to no one in particular, "everything's ready to go. All I have to do is press the launch button and it'll be gone." 

Before the echo of her last word had faded, the south wall of her lab collapsed. "HALT! Stop what you're doing!" an amplified reploid voice called out.

"You can't stop me now!" Dr. Luce cried back. "You're too late, Omicron!" She hit the launch button, and as the blasting commenced, the time pod dissolved into nothingness, heading back to the year 21XX. Dr. Luce had won this round.


	2. Chapter One

I was eighteen the year I stepped out of the shower and into a new life.

I had just gotten a towel wrapped around my wet body and was working on getting one around my long auburn hair when I heard a strange male voice behind me.

"Hello, Khareesa."

As expected, I whipped around to face the man, but managed to keep my grip on both towels. "Who are you, and how did you get in here?"

He was a nice-looking guy, red body armor and all. (_Armor?__ Damn, he's a reploid._) "I have my ways, which you will probably learn," he replied. "And I think you know who I am. As to your unspoken question, Khareesa, the only reason I knew your name was because of Dr. Cain."

Feeling chilly now, but definitely not willing to lose any more modesty in front of a total stranger (_Shit, how long has he been standing there… He does seem a bit familiar…_) I asked, "Could we pick up this conversation in a few minutes, sir?" He nodded, and I made a break for the stairs, ran up, and disappeared into my bedroom.

Ten minutes later, I walked back downstairs in cut-offs and a tank top, with my leather sandals and hairbrush in hand. I set the shoes on the floor in the living room, then offered my strange (_or maybe not so strange_) visitor a seat and something to drink. "No, thanks" was his reply to the drink offer as he sat in Tarron's pleather armchair. I plopped onto the couch and wondered where Tarron, Danae, and Nacio had gone.

"So, sir," I broke the silence with as I slipped my sandals on, "you seem to have me at a disadvantage. I never caught your name."

"I never threw it out, lady." I blushed at a title more formal than I deserved, but he couldn't see it through the wet curtain of hair now in my face. As soon as I was sure the blush had faded, I flipped my head and tossed all my hair behind me, then proceeded to brush it out more thoroughly. "My name is Zero," he continued, "and Dr. Cain feels it is time for you to learn about your origins."

Feeling confused, I started to braid my hair. "What do you mean, learn about myself?"

"Dr. Cain did not tell me any more than that, and to bring you to his lab. But I will not take you by force; that is one thing that X stressed before I left, and it seemed rather important to him."

(_Zero… X… Dr. Cain… Why does it all sound familiar?_) "Well, okay, Zero, my curiosity has the better of me, but I think my hunger has the advantage right now. If you'll excuse me again," I said, rising, "I'll just throw together a couple of sandwiches, then we can be on our way." I pulled a hair tie out of my pocket and put it around my four-foot braid as I walked past Zero into the kitchen. (_Did he look confused?_)

I walked into the kitchen and opened up the fridge. I pulled out a bottle of water, some lunchmeats, two slices of cheese, and the bread and set it all on the counter. Closing the fridge, I glanced at the message board on the front. It read, in Tarron's barely legible scrawl:

Nacio and I are taking Danae to work, then we're headed out to the other end of town to help set up for the concert. Call me when you get up, love. After the late night you had, we didn't want to disturb you. T.

I smiled, then erased the message and replaced it with one of my own:

Went to visit an old friend. Don't know when I'll be back. Hugs and kisses to Nacio and Danae, all my love to Tarron. K.

I haven't the slightest idea why I wrote the first part the way I did. It just felt right.

I assembled my sandwich, bagged it and some chips in a Ziploc baggie, and put everything up. Grabbing my bottle of water, I went back into the den. "Okay, I'm ready," I pronounced as I dropped the water and baggie into my purse. We walked out, me being the last one out and, of course, the one to shut and lock the apartment door. Dropping my apartment keys into my purse, I pulled out my cell and slid the earpiece into the hollow of my right ear. The receiver rested right beside my mouth. Without even looking at the numeral pad, I dialed Tarron's cell number.

A quick "Hello?" answered the other end after a couple of rings.

"Hi, love," I responded. I noted the background noise of the mics being checked and other stuff being set up.

"Hey, sweetie. Listen, I can barely hear you, so can we talk later, Kiki?"

I wasn't sure there'd be a later, but I did make a mental note to kick my fiancé's ass next time I saw him for calling me Kiki. But I figured I could probably call him from wherever I ended up when I got the chance. So, "Yeah, sure, later, Tarron," was what came out of my mouth.

"All righty, then. I love you."

"Luv ya lots, Tar." Payback for Kiki.

"Bye."

"Buh-bye!" I ended the call and dropped the phone back into my purse. Then I realized Zero was watching me. Like he was trying to find the appropriate time to say something.

"Khareesa, we will have to take your motorbike, is that all right?" he asked. (_How'd he know I owned a bike… Oh, it's the only vehicle in the lot._)

"Of course. May I ask why?" I replied as I started to dig the key for my motorbike out of my purse.

"Because I kind of walked here" was his quiet admission.

I smiled as I mounted my steed and secured my purse. "Men," I murmured jokingly. "They're all the same. Always trying to impress the ladies." With Zero securely seated behind me, we were off.


	3. Chapter Two

About a quarter hour later, with Zero's exact directions and my highway speeds, we arrived at a low-lying building with a single-story parking garage beside it. I parked my 'bike at the far end of the row of 'bikes closest to the wall. I checked out the other motorbikes while Zero walked over to the wall and entered a pass code.

Quite a few of the bikes were like mine, but an equal number were of the old wider Harley-Davidson style. The rest – a surprising number, in fact – looked like jet bikes, with their sleek bodies and dual exhaust pipes… plus the fact they were resting directly on the ground. I glimpsed some of the other vehicles in further rows. They were of intermixed types – ground cars, trucks, a few vans, and some enclosed and a couple of open-air hovercraft, the older brothers of the jet bikes. The variety of vehicles was absolutely amazing.

"Khareesa, we need to go see Dr. Cain," Zero said, breaking my trance of fascination. I had always been a tinkerer, and my 'bike was the perfect example of my skills. I averted my eyes from the many beauties I saw before me and followed Zero into the actual complex, starting on my sandwich as I did so.

From the outside, it had looked like an abandoned warehouse. From the inside… well, it was pretty sterile. Harsh fluorescent overheads lit the whole hallway with a pure white light. We finally entered the stairwell at the other end of the hallway. We could have taken the elevator, but I'd rather not have done that, anyway.

The stairwell was mercifully dim. My eyes adjusted quickly as I followed Zero down. After so many flights of stairs I lost count (part of that was due to the fact that I was still focused intently on my sandwich), Zero opened a door. I expected more actinic light to flood into the dim stairwell. Instead, softer, more natural light flowed through the door. I smiled as I took the last bite of my sandwich and put the wrapper in my purse for later recycling.

I was thirsty, so I opened the bottle of water and drew a small drought into my mouth. I followed that with a potato chip. I finally noticed the look that Zero was giving me as he secured the door behind us. "Want one?" I asked reflexively. Of course, he shook his head in refusal.

"Is something the matter, Zero? Do I have cheese on my chin?" I asked, grinning. He didn't respond. I popped another chip into my mouth.

He shook his head again, almost like he couldn't believe what he was seeing, and asked, "How are you eating that? Does it not jam up your systems?"

"Well, in some cases," I said hesitantly, "yeah, but not if you eat them in moderation." I knew he was a reploid, but I would've thought he knew something about human consumption habits.

"No, I mean… I thought Dr. Cain said…" Then his eyes widened and shrank, as if remembering something he wasn't supposed to say. He sounded slightly confused.

"Dr. Cain said what?" I asked as he turned his back to me and continued on. He was avoiding my question. This gave me a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach, so I walked after him, my chips forgotten. I caught up to him quickly and placed a hand on his shoulder, which I subconsciously expected to be cold, but was about body temperature. "What did Dr. Cain say, Zero?"

Zero turned and faced me again, with the look of a cornered cat in his eyes. He tried to back away, but my gentle-firm grip stayed him. He finally stammered out, "You-you are supposed to be a r-r-reploid!" He ran off down the hall as shock loosened my grip on his shoulder. I stared after him for a minute or two, trying to register what he'd said and what it meant.

_No, it can't be. I have human eating and drinking habits… I do things that no reploid could… There's no way! _My thoughts went in a downward spiral as my body slid down the wall I found myself leaning against. I didn't care, not even when I landed on the ground hard enough to bruise my butt bone. It was almost like an out-of-body experience.

As I sat there, I finished my water, then threw the bottle down the hall in frustration when there was no more. I heard it _thunk_ against someone and land on the floor, bouncing and rolling around a bit before it settled. The noise drew me out of my reverie enough to notice a blue-armored man – reploid – standing where the bottle had impacted.

"Good shot," the reploid complimented. "And you were not even looking." I drew my knees to my chest and turned my back to him. He came around and knelt down in front of me so I could see his face. "Would you feel better if I did not have the armor on?" Without waiting for an answer, he pressed a button on his left wrist. When the armor faded, I saw he had on jeans and a t-shirt… normal human clothes.

Without the armor, he didn't look half bad. He was about my height, with chestnut hair and a nice build. Reminded me of Tarron… "Well, does this make you feel better?" His repeated question caught me off guard.

"I guess," I replied. My nerves were still a little racked, but at least Blue Boy was trying to calm me down, unlike Zero. He offered me a hand up, and I accepted. 

"Do you think you are up to seeing Dr. Cain, Khareesa?" he asked.

"Might as well," I responded noncommittally. I wasn't even sure I could leave, now, if I wanted to. I followed him down the hall.

"I have heard some interesting things about you, Khareesa," the reploid said noncommittally. "For instance, what happened a little while ago between you and Zero."

"It's not true, is it?" I asked.

"I am not at liberty to say," he replied, "and neither was Zero. He just gets flustered sometimes and does not know what else to do." We stopped in front of a metal door that slid open with a little prompting from Blue Boy. I followed him inside.

I hopped lithely up onto the nearest med bed and sat with my legs dangling. The reploid left the room for a minute, then returned, followed by an older, kindly looking man. "… And I found her in the hall near the stairwell. She is a good shot, by the way, sir." My cheeks warmed as he referred to my thrown bottle. Blue Boy walked over to me, with the older man not far behind. "Khareesa, meet Dr. Cain."

Dr. Cain was a shorter person, with a crown of white hair. He had a cane that supported the limp he had, but I suspected that the cane was more than it appeared. He put his hand out in greeting. "Nice to meet you, miss. I hope Zero's words didn't scare you too badly."

"I'm still not sure of the truth in them, sir," I replied respectfully. Dr. Cain just had one of those presences that said _respect me or get your ass blasted_. Or maybe it was just my imagination in my present state of mind.

"Thank you for finding her, X. That'll be all for now. You need to go rest a bit," Dr. Cain instructed the reploid I'd been thinking of as Blue Boy. Then I put two and two together. Blue armor… X… This was Megaman X that had come to find me! My eyes widened and my head felt like it was going to float off my neck, and I blushed more fiercely when I recalled my inadvertent attack with the water bottle. X didn't seem to notice as he walked out.

"Khareesa, I know what Zero said is a shock to you, but it's the truth. Since you've had the unexpected chance to assimilate the data, I hope you can accept it." Dr. Cain sounded really sympathetic for my situation.

"Is there any way you can prove it to me? I hate to sound ungrateful, but this is one of those things I'm not sure I could believe unless I saw it," I replied.

"Of course. Why didn't I think of that?" (_A/N: Okay, so it's cliché. We're all allowed to use 'em every once in a while. If you don't like it you can… *the story's characters suddenly choke out author*_) Dr. Cain continued, "Just lay back on that med bed and slide your arm into the sleeve on the side." I felt I could trust him, so I did as he asked. A few seconds later I felt a strange tingling all down my forearm. I just lay there without flinching. It was pretty easy, actually.

A little while later Dr. Cain asked me to sit up again. I did so and looked at whatever data he extracted from my arm. He selected a file (_interesting how everything he got is separated into files_) and activated it. A bust shot of a woman with long silvery hair was frozen on a holopad beside the monitor. Dr. Cain hit the Play button.

"My little creation, I hope this file finds you well. I am sorry I had to keep the secret…" She continued on, though I filtered her out so I could think. She looked familiar. I thought _light_ for some reason, then _luce_, the Old Spanish word for light. "Dr. Luce," I whispered.

I thought I was quiet about it. But Dr. Cain hit the Pause button and looked at me. "Do you recognize her, Khareesa?" I nodded. "I don't know who she is," Dr. Cain continued, "but I think it would be best to look at the rest of these files." I nodded again.

He opened a file named k-specs. Instead of the bust, the holopad showed a shadowed figure, almost like an outline. He clicked a button reading "accept vocal commands".

"Show skeletal structure in the file." The holopad displayed not the shadow, but just a female skeleton. "Show musculature." The holopad added muscles over the skeleton. Dr. Cain turned to me and said, "This is very good work, Khareesa. Your Dr. Luce was very good at what she did." He turned back to the computer. "Display circulatory system." A million little veins and arteries were shown weaving in and out of the muscles and the bones, almost in a pattern. "Display outer structure." The holopad now showed a girl whose face I'd seen in the mirror every day of my life. She was wearing jean shorts and a loose t-shirt.

"Well, this is all very interesting, Khareesa," Dr. Cain said. "I need time to study it some more. I also need to look at your body armor specs to see what we can do about that. In the meantime, how much self-defense training do you have?"


	4. Chapter Three

"Good," Kyrie praised as I finished my tenth _kata_ in as many minutes. My _shito-ryu_ training came in handy for more than keeping my lean form strong. "What belt did you get to, Khareesa?"

"Brown," I replied as I lunged deeply to each side to stretch my legs. "My _sensei_ told me that I was one of his better students, and I ended up showing new _senpai_ a thing or two about teaching!" I grinned at the memories of the last two and a half years. My first year of lessons had been my sixteenth birthday present from my parents. After the first year of lessons ran out, I decided to continue my training. The money I had saved up working part time as a server at a swanky restaurant paid the way for that dream. Nine months later, I was glad I had already started being independent. After my parents… well, let's just say they left me enough money in various forms to live on, and then some.

I focused back on my karate as Kyrie tossed me a double-edged wooden sword. She held its twin. The sword looked like hickory, and probably was. I familiarized myself with the weight and balance of the sword, then faced Kyrie with my sword in my right hand, knowing full well her intention.

We saluted, then I drew back in a cross-guard. That was my usual opening move in weapons _kumite_matches; contrary to what _sensei_ had taught about _kumite_, that defensive move had not yet lost me a match. Kyrie lunged with an overhead cut, and I moved to block. After answering with a feint to her midsection, which she blocked, I followed through and came back for a sweep. She wisely jumped my sword, then aimed for a thrust to my left side. She thought that was my weak side, since all my attacks had been with my right hand. A mistake; _sensei_ taught me long ago to be able to fight with both hands equally. I tossed my sword to my left hand and blocked her thrust. Knocking her sword to the side threw Kyrie off balance, and my following leg sweep finished the job of knocking her to the floor. Springing up, I switched my sword back to my right hand and pinned her stomach lightly with my foot, stopping the descent of the blade's point a centimeter from her jugular. Then, in a throwback to a set of novels I'd been reading lately, I asked her, "Do you yield?"

This only got a questioning look from her as she rolled out from under my pin and leapt lithely up from the floor. I looked at the sword as I handed it back to her. There was the tiniest nick in the edge of the blade, near the cross guard. I wondered if I had caused that or if it had been there from previous use.

My stomach rumbled, but knowing the shock my eating habits had given Zero, I decided against mentioning anything involving food. Instead, I excused myself with the tale of going to talk to Dr. Cain, which wasn't entirely a lie; I made a beeline for his lab as soon as I exited the training room. The lab was easy enough to find; the white-haired man I had been searching for was working at a console in the middle of the room, with a small desktop monitor for reference. The door slid silently shut behind me.

I didn't wish to startle him, so I stood quietly just inside the lab. I wasn't even sure he'd heard me enter, so it was all the more shocking when he said, "Come here, Khareesa."

Made me jump a little; the guy must've been psychic. I obeyed him and walked over to the console. "I'm sorry, Dr., I didn't want to startle you…" I trailed off in my apology as the screen caught my eye. It held a schematic layout for some type of knife… the complete schematic below it had a faintly glowing blade, a deep blue hilt with silver wire inlay, and a dark silver cross guard. "Wow," I whispered in awe. "That's beautiful." I ran my hand across the screen, imagining the feel of the hilt in my hand, the inlaid wires biting into my palm, the heat of the blade lying against my forearm… I shook my head, thinking I was delusional for a brief instant.

My rumbling stomach brought me full-bore back into reality. "Dr. Cain, where could I go to get something to eat?"

He looked at me for a second, then waved me toward the kitchen area in his office. "Wait a second," he then said, and jotted down a string of characters on a torn corner of flim-plast and handed it to me. "I think you'll like this idea better. Those are some new codes I installed in the system just for you, coded to your voice and touch. That way, you can get in and out of the complex at will. You can find something to eat wherever you like, then you can come back here any time."

I marveled at his trust in what to him was almost a complete stranger. "Thanks, Doc." I looked at the flim-plast and its three sets of characters.

"The first set is for access to the building proper," Dr. Cain informed me. "The second is for the stairway and elevator passages, which you need to access this level. The third is my personal cell number; just in case you feel you need to call here for anything." I immediately made a mental note to put that into my cell as soon as possible.

"Cool, thanks!" I hugged the fatherly figure before grabbing my purse out of his office, where I'd left it when Kyrie had taken me to the training room.


	5. Chapter Four

Once we got to the mall and found each other, I dragged Tarron to the Outback Bar and Grill. I was starving by this time. We had a peaceful dinner, then split a dessert of strawberry cheesecake, with a glass of brandy apiece to finish it off.

Through dinner I explained to Tarron what had changed my life today – all the way from Zero's intrusion (minus the shower bit) to Dr. Cain's revelation to me. As I knew would happen, my story was met with silence. He didn't believe a word of what I had said. I remained silent while he digested the tale. "That's impossible," he finally said, though with less conviction than I had first expected. Still I stayed quiet, allowing him the chance to assimilate it even further.

Finally, I spoke. "It sounds impossible, love, but it's the truth."

"But, Khareesa. I know you inside and out," he stated, and I agreed, thinking back two nights prior to our heated night of passion just like our first time. "You seem as human as Nacio or Danae… or me," he continued.

"I know, Tarron; maybe that's one of the wonders of the 26th century… that one is incapable of telling reploid from human," I told him. "I mean, I obviously don't have the characteristically huge feet of a reploid!" I laughed, then leaned over and kissed his lips lightly before finishing the last of my brandy.

Once he started to accept the fact, I didn't touch on it the rest of the night. Neither did he. We finally paid our bill and left the Outback.

"Is there anything in particular you want to do tonight?" Tarron asked as we walked to our vehicles, which were close together. The pair of us decided to go to a movie, then we went to a twenty-four hour superstore and acted like little kids until midnight. Afterwards, exhausted, we went back to the apartment, where I fell asleep in his arms on the couch. I didn't even notice that Nacio and Danae were missing.


End file.
